Veteran independent journalist from the Gambia who has suffered attacks and imprisonment for his work. He is also a leading press freedom activist, serving as president of the Gambia Press Union, which has spearheaded efforts to fight impunity for attacks on the press, including the unsolved December 2004 murder of prominent newspaper editor Deyda Hydara. The tense national climate was laid bare when the Press Union organized an international conference to mark the first anniversary of Hydara’s murder. Police barred journalists from the site of the murder, along a public road, and they assaulted a reporter. He was jailed before, in 2000, while covering the opposition United Democratic Party. Ceesay’s advocacy and leadership have been crucial in the Gambia, where frequent attacks, imprisonments, and other forms of harassment have made the nation one of the worst in Africa for the press.